With the soaring costs of energy has come a high level of interest in the maximized efficiency of the use of energy. When it comes to providing light, it is a well-known fact that fluorescent fixtures utilize electrical energy a great deal more efficiently than do incandescent fixtures.
However, one drawback of the fluorescent fixture typically is the relative difficulty of installation because the fixtures involve a long housing, ordinarily 4' in length or greater, and is in general much more complicated than a simple incandescent light fixture, which is very elementary to mount.
In the wake of the energy problem has come a nationally marketed fluorescent fixture which is circular with a self-contained ballast transformer which screws into a conventional incandescent light socket. These are somewhat expensive however, and are somewhat limited in their lumen output due to weight and tube length considerations.
There is therefore a need for a simple fluorescent which is easily installed by non-technical people and which can be mounted alternatively at the election of the user in any of the ordinary modes of deployment of fluorescent lights, which are flush against the ceiling, flush against a wall, flush into a corner defined by two walls or a wall and a celling, or suspended from the ceiling.